Study undercuts notion that they're given to help the poor, some experts say
Most free drug samples go to wealthy and insured patients, not to the poor and uninsured who may need them most, Harvard researchers report.
In fact, more than four-fifths of those who receive samples are insured, while less than one-fifth are uninsured and less than one-third have low incomes (below $37,000 for a family of four), the researchers found.
"Free drug samples influence prescribing and also introduce potential safety problems," said lead researcher Dr. Sarah Cutrona, a physician with the Cambridge Health Alliance and an instructor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School. "Despite these problems, many doctors support the program because [they say] free samples 'allow us to get free medications to our neediest patients,' " she said.
However, most free samples don't go to the neediest patients, Cutrona's group found.
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